(1) Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to fishing tackle. More particularly, this invention relates to the design of fishing hooks, and the fishing lures containing such fishing hooks. The present invention relates to a unique fishing hook that endows either the bait or the artificial lure accompanying it with both vibratory and rotational movement, as well as sound waves that are attractive to fish; such endowment may occur intermittently by changes in the tilting attitude of the device, under the control of the angler. The invented fishing hook does so without needing delicate switches to activate and deactivate the motor, and it is constructed to withstand the jarring and other forces commonly expected to be experienced by a fishing hook or lure.
The angler may simply position the motor and power source in the watertight hook casing, then cast the fishing hook into the water (adorned with live bait or other luring material); as the fishing hook descends (with its leading casing end tilted downward below the trailing end), gravity causes the miniature rotary-shaft motor within the hook casing to slide into contact with the power source, activating the motor and causing its rotary shaft to rotate the counterweight at its end. This causes the motor to rotate in the opposite direction, and to wobble slightly within the fishing hook casing; as a result, the descending fishing lure lists, wobbles and/or otherwise moves as if alive and well and/or injured; sound is also produced by the counterweight and the motor housing contacting the inner walls of the hook casing. Whenever the user pulls or “jigs” the fishing line, causing the lure to temporarily ascend with its leading casing end tilting toward the water surface, the motor within the hook casing slides out of contact with the power source, thereby deactivating the motor and the accompanying movement and sound.
This fishing hooked is designed to undulate with gyroscopic precession, under some circumstances producing an intermittent-pulsing, triple-axis rotational movement accompanied by a 3-dimensional sound wave, to attract fish. This is a significant improvement in design and performance for artificial or live bait presentation with a hook. The fishing hook can be used in a multitude of fishing applications encompassing the entire field of hook baiting and attraction techniques for the purpose of catching fish.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Disclosed 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
Lures employing sound, vibratory movement or other motion to attract fish have been known in the angling field for several years. Known in the art are the following, arguably related to the patentability of the present invention:
U.S. patent/App.1st InventorDate of Patent/Publication2,552,730MillerMay 15, 19512,757,475PankoveAug. 7, 19562,909,863RectorOct. 27, 19593,310,902GodbyMar. 28, 19673,841,0 2MaledOct. 15, 19744,223,467HodgesSep. 23, 19804,380,132AdkinsonApr. 19, 19834,805,339FuentesFeb. 21, 19896,035,574WareMar. 14, 20006,047,492WatsonApr. 11, 20006,789,347WestSep. 14, 20046,804,909WestOct. 19, 20042004/0200125AlbanitoOct. 14, 2004
U.S. Pat. No. 2,552,730 issued to Miller provides a leaf spring which vibrates when the fishing line is given a sudden jerk. Since the spring vibrates in the water, however, the vibrations are of only short duration and thus effective only if a fish is in the immediate vicinity of the lure at the instant the spring is put in motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,863 issued to Rector et al. discloses a lure which produces a knocking or tapping sound, by means of a weight striking the walls of the hollow interior of the lure. The action of this lure depends upon movement of the lure through the water, and, consequently, results in an erratic tapping rather than uniform vibrations.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,475 issued to Pankove discloses a lure including a piezoelectric transducer powered by a transistorized oscillator circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,902 issued to Godby discloses another similar lure of the plug design, which includes a vibrating coil and breaker point system which are energized by a battery and activated by a switch means operated by tension applied to the connecting line. Buzzing or vibrating of the internal coil and breaker point system is accomplished by pulling or jerking the line to slidably displace the switch with respect to the lure body, and thus complete the electrical circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,012 issued to Maled discloses a plug-type lure having internal eccentric, vibrating or buzzing means for producing noise and lure vibration. This lure includes a hollow body which is caused to vibrate by a rotor, motor and battery combination located inside the body cavity. The battery is wired to the motor, and drives an eccentrically mounted weight on the motor output shaft, which weight rotates and strikes the inside cavity of the body to produce vibration, motion and sound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,467 issued to Hodges, Jr. et al. discloses a vibrating fishing lure which includes a hollow body with a coil and breaker point vibrator combination mounted in the hollow interior of the body. The vibrator is activated by an attitude sensitive switch, and is powered by a battery. The battery is removably positioned in a cylindrically shaped carrier and sleeve located inside the hollow body, with access to the battery provided by a water tight threaded cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,132 issued to Atkinson discloses a fishing lure having a water-tight cavity with a wire spring within the cavity, one end of the spring being rigidly affixed to the lure body and the opposite end carrying a weight. The relationship between the cavity size and the weighted spring is such that the spring will oscillate freely within the cavity without the weight striking the cavity walls during normal movement of the lure through the water. Alternate forms of the invention utilize an electronic oscillator-driven transducer to produce vibration of the lure body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,339 issued to Fuentes et al. discloses a sonic fishing lure having an energy source, an electrical circuit, and a sonic traducer, where each are respectively contained within chambers of a generally hollow cylindrically-shaped fishing lure. Due to the construction of the fishing lure, the sound output form the fishing lure is of a greater intensity and is produced for a longer period of time than that of prior art devices. The sound output from a coil activator vibrating-plate type of transducer is enhanced by the addition of a second vibrating plate. A fluid connection between the outer surface of the sound transducer and the body of the fishing lure further enhances and intensifies the sound output by the fishing lure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,574 issued to Ware teaches a fishing lure for producing vibrations of a pre-determined frequency to attract fish. The fishing lure is provided with a streamlined body to substantially eliminate sound generating turbulence as the fishing lure is pulled through the water. The body is also provided with a shaft passing through the body to cause water passing through the shaft to generate vibrations of a pre-determined frequency known to attract fish. A hook is securely fastened to the body to reduce excess noise otherwise associated with the hook contacting the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,492 issued to Watson et al., discloses a fishing lure having a battery-powered oscillator circuit positioned within a water-resistant container module that is removably inserted into a selected body module. The module is balanced to insure proper lure action even as fish-attracting sounds and motions are generated from the container module.
None of the aforementioned patents discloses a rotary motor sliding and rotating freely within a fishing hook housing, or a V-shaped counterweight attached thereto, each of which intermittently produces both vibratory and rotational movement as well as sound waves without the need of a separate switch or microprocessor programming.